


Turn it again

by OnceInAYear



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Homesickness, Jean-Luc Picard Is So Done, M/M, Melancholy, Pre-Relationship, or in other words Q is trying to woo our favourite captain, trying to get along after the events of the trials
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:01:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27544990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceInAYear/pseuds/OnceInAYear
Summary: Picard wakes up in a comfortable bed in new york. The rain is hitting the windows, the nightlight of the city softly illuminates the room and the smell of coffee fills the air. All in all, it would’ve been a very calm early morning. Except he didn’t remember entering the holodeck, no, he was supposed to be commanding the enterprise.Set after the events of the Never-ending trial!
Relationships: Jean-Luc Picard/Q
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48
Collections: Qcard Big Bang





	Turn it again

**Author's Note:**

> This is really late, school has been hounding me T-T hope you guys enjoy it :3

He woke up in a comfortable bed. The rain was hitting the windows, the nightlight of the city softly illuminated the room and the smell of coffee waved through the air.

It would have been a perfect way to wake up, feeling well-rested and surrounded by warmth, except he didn't remember falling asleep. Nor did he remember entering the holodeck to visit a city and simulating rain.

It took him an embarrassingly long time to pull himself awake and blink the sleep out of his eyes. Reaching up to rub at his face, he realized he's wearing a soft pair of pants and a comfortable long-sleeved shirt. There was also a pair of slippers next to the bed and he was quick to put them on before getting up. The air wasn't quite chilly but leaving the comfortable warmth of the bed was still a struggle.

Jean-Luc took stock of his surroundings, the room he was placed in was modest, containing a bed with a dresser and a small end table. The window, however, managed to catch his eye, though.

The city outside was sprawling across the horizon, with big buildings taking up most of the space and streets full of cars illuminating the area with bright light like running rivers. The amount of colours and space made a fascinating view, showing life among the brisk foundation and grey blocks, and the atmosphere was only enhanced by the rain that was softly hitting the glass that separated him from the outside world.

He wasn't quite sure why, but the scenery in front of him made him pause for several minutes longer. Maybe it was because the endless confines of space, although bright with stars, wasn't nearly as… _alive_ as the view in front of him. Down below, he could see moving lights, cars by the looks of it, and bright storefronts glowing in every colour of the rainbow offering refuge from the rain to the inhabitants below.

For some reason, Jean-Luc knew deep down that this wasn't the holodeck working its magic. This felt all too real to be a simple simulation.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and decided on a course of action. First, find out how he had gotten here. Second, find a way back to his ship and his crew. Third, don't get distracted by the view any longer than he already was.

Piccard decided to explore for now, as he didn't quite know where exactly he was yet. He was definitely on earth, though the lack of familiar architecture made him wonder if he was even still in the 24th century anymore.

He had a sinking suspicion that Q was behind it somehow. Time travel and exploration of human society did seem to be in his usual repertoire. Why he was so obsessed with humanity was still a mystery Picard had yet to figure out, but if it was indeed Q's doing then maybe this could be an opportunity to do so.

The smell of coffee led him into the kitchen and Jean-Luc wasn't the least bit surprised to see Q sitting at the kitchen table and reading what looked to be a newspaper. It has been many centuries since anyone had used actual paper to read the news, but his own research into earth customs made him recognize it nonetheless.

"Under any normal circumstances I would have been in a reasonably high amount of distress but as it stands I am still rather tired and not entirely awake. Nevertheless, an explanation would still be in order."

Q only raised an eyebrow in amusement and put the newspaper down on the table.

"What, no "What am I doing here?" no "Explain yourself Q!" or anything of the sort mon Capitaine? Had I known a good night's sleep would make you more agreeable I would have tried knocking you out earlier."

There was a subtle edge of mockery in his eyes that mixed with the evident amusement, but Picard wasn't in the mood for games today. He reached out to rub the remaining traces of sleep out of his eyes before turning to address the other once more.

"An explanation, Q", and after a small moment of deliberation, "please."

Although he tried to hide it, Q was undoubtedly caught off guard by his lack of protest. Picard wasn't quite sure why but seeing Q on uneven ground for once made a small sliver of amusement flicker through him.

"What do you think I did?", Q replied testily, "surely as a great starship captain you must have come to your own conclusions by now."

It seemed that Picard's success in the trials was still somewhat of a sore spot between them and so he elected to ignore the goading for now. He had after all figured out the time anomaly, hadn't he? Wariness, however, prevented him from making a comment and so he decided to look around instead.

The kitchen itself was very spacious, with black marble countertops and a broad sitting area as well as a burner stove it seemed to be perfect for someone who appreciates cooking. It could have easily hosted a dozen people and Picard even found the source of the smell in the form of a large coffee pot that has just finished brewing.

"I'd assume you must have brought me here for a reason, what does the continuum want with humanity this time?"

"The continuum? Oh no, that was purely business and this time we are doing something fun! As you humans would say, business before pleasure and all that. ", Q replied still sounding somewhat put off at his lack of protest.

Deciding that it was safe to do so, as Q had yet to throw any danger his way or present him with yet another impossible task, he made his way over to the coffee pot. It wasn't the same as the tea he enjoyed but the caffeine boost would certainly help with his lacklustre attitude. And also give him the patience to deal with his current situation.

Picard took his time to find a mug in one of the cabinets before continuing.

"If I would have to guess, I'd say that we are on earth, though the better question would be in which time period we are currently in."

"Oh well done! And you guessed correctly, we're currently in the 21st century in the heart of New York city!", came the cheerful reply behind him.

"I see.", Picard said with a sigh.

In front of him, a cup began to levitate before the pot he held in his hand hovered forward and poured coffee inside until it was full. The cup then disappeared. Picard didn't have to guess where it ended up. He turned around, facing Q's smiling form at the bar table, and leaned against the counter.

"Let us cut to the chase then", Q continued, sipping from his own mug now that he had his undivided attention, "we're going to go sightseeing a bit. You know, really enjoy the place and all its wonders. We can even drop by the statue of liberty, I heard some really good things about the view up there!"

For some reason, Picard got the impression that Q was trying to convince himself. He wasn't quite sure why, but the way the other spoke with an odd glint in his eyes made him think there was more behind it.

There was only one way to find out though, and if time travel was involved his only chance to return to his ship was to go along with Q's trip. Maybe it would even be a good learning opportunity. Earth's past had always been a fasinating topic for him to research.

"Do I have a choice?", Picard asked.

"No", said Q with a grin, "if you want me to transport you back, mon Capitaine, you'll have to play the game first."

"I believe you said the business part of our acquaintance was over", Picard replied dryly.

Q rolled his eyes, "Merely a manner of speech mon Capitaine. You know we're really not all that different when it comes to these things. I'd assume you'd be more excited at the prospect of exploring earth's rich history."

He was, but he wouldn't be admitting to it out loud.

"I would be if I had a say in the matter and also wasn't transported here without my permission.", Picard replied, not the least bit amused by these antics.

Q waved him off, "Are you ready to head out or not?"

He sighed and put down his cup, "I suppose."

The other merely gave a wink and snapped his fingers in response.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Being teleported somewhere was incredibly disorienting, Picard thought. He looked around and noticed that they were standing at a cross-section on the sidewalk. In New York, Q had said.

The city was… colourful, for lack of a better descriptor. The buildings and streets themselves were dark, matching the black starless sky and grey fog that arrived with the rain. It was the inhabitants themselves, that provided most of the light within the city.

The streets were lit by glowing shop windows and the bright headlights of cars. Far above in the sky, one could see yellow windows in the skyscrapers where someone was still awake. The advertisement boards, that glowed in all colours of the rainbow, gave the whole thing an otherworldly feeling.

Picard was surprised at the number of people that were walking the streets, he had assumed most of them would be in their homes until the sun rose. Or perhaps the city itself provided the necessary light for people to continue on with their business as usual.

The cars, combined with the rain, made for a pleasant backdrop and although the air was chilly he didn't feel cold.

Looking down, he realized he was now wearing a jacket, pants and boots and a comfortable wool sweater underneath that seemed to fit the current time period. The outfit change was disconcerting, yet surprisingly thoughtful at the same time.

"There's a reason it is called the city that never sleeps", Q hummed next to him, startling him out of his thoughts.

"I would assume people would need to sleep sometime, don't they?", Picard said, watching the glowing storefronts and dark blurry figures with umbrellas pass by.

"Oh, they do. Some just prefer to sleep during the day.", Q placed his hand on his arm and began to lead him down the street, "many places here are open for 24 hours and the city's inhabitants do enjoy their midnight strolls so. There's a certain atmosphere to the place wouldn't you say?"

Picard hummed in agreement, it was endlessly fascinating to watch the stream of traffic go by, wondering where someone might need to get to in the middle of the night.

"It's a bit early still, 4 am to be precise, but an early hour was preferable since the streets are less full."

"This is considered empty then?", Picard asked quietly, mindful of passerby's hearing, "some of the people here look like they are just starting the day."

Q laughed, "Some of them haven't slept at all, mon Capitaine! But that's life I suppose, no?", he gave him a knowing smile that made Picard roll his eyes before continuing, "Don't worry about your volume, they can't hear us."

Picard realized he was right, although he could see and hear the world around them just fine, their steps on the wet sidewalk didn't seem to make a sound.

Furthermore, although they walked through the streets without an umbrella, the rain didn't affect them at all. The people they passed didn't seem to notice them either.

At first, he had assumed it was simply the number of people that made noticing strangers impossible once one got used to it, but the longer they walked the more he realized this was not the case. Though nobody noticed their presence, they still somehow managed to walk around them without acknowledging them.

"They can't see us either", Q supplied helpfully, "I find tourism is much more fun without anyone bothering you."

"Well, that explains the rain", Picard responded dryly.

Q gave him a side-eye for a moment before continuing.

"Are you not enjoying our little walk? I find a stroll through the rain can be incredibly relaxing.", he pulled Picard a bit closer to him and made an umbrella appear in his other hand, the rain now hitting its top in soft patters, "although I suppose carrying an umbrella is part of the experience."

Picard continued to watch the people around them, fascinated by the array of styles and bright lights. To the left of them, a street performer was playing the violin underneath a tarp from a storefront and attracting couples that shared an umbrella. The music fit the mood somehow, a slow melancholy melodie flowing through the air.

Only once Q's hand around his arm tightened did he snap out of his stupor, "I don't mind sightseeing, it is merely not my preferred style of vacation."

"Oh? What does a starship captain want from a vacation then? A fancy restaurant? A boat tour with champagne and lobster? Maybe a stroll through the museums. You do love your ancient history so", Q joked, his tone surprisingly laced with mild annoyance.

"Well, I wouldn't mind seeing a museum", Picard responded, still trying to figure out what had set the other off, "I've never actually been to one on earth, most data these days can be accessed via PADD and so I simply never had the pleasure of experiencing one."

Q hummed in thought.

"Oh, very well, I suppose looking at old bones is better than being stuck out here in the rain."

Before Picard could ask why the other had even suggested the walk in the first place then, Q snapped his fingers again.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Awareness returned to him rather quickly and while he recovered his bearing he realized they were standing inside a giant hall.

In front of them stood a giant dinosaur skeleton on a podium, a quick glance to the provided information wall read "T.rex – getting bad".

"A fascinating specimen", Q commented, "most of its ancestors were rather small but this particular tyrannosaurus was the biggest of its kind, it even ate members of its own species."

Picard looked around, trying to pinpoint the location of the other's voice, until he looked up towards the spine of the skeleton. Q was too emersed in his explanation to notice, but he eventually started to float upwards from his seat on top of the fossil (a notion Picard would have been horrified at if it wasn't for the knowledge that Q could easily fix any damage) and hovering around the different pieces whilst gesticulating as he talked.

It was surprisingly endearing to watch.

Q must have noticed his silence and stopped in his explanation of the specimens feathers and their function to look down. Once he realized he was floating about the room, he cleared his throat, rather embarrassed at being caught of gaurd, and set back down on the ground.

"Anyway, shall we explore?", he asked, clasping his hands behind his back and holding his chin up high, daring him to say something.

Picard could only look on in amusement, "Very well, after you.", and gestured to the next room.

Q narrowed his eyes but started leading the way regardless with Picard trailing after him.

They ended up walking through the entire museum, looking at every exhibit with Picard pointing out those he was familiar with or had some sort of knowledge about and Q adding on some more information from his own repertoire.

Who knew that dinosaurs were more filled out than the depicted recreations the scientists provided? His inner historian was positively buzzing at the opportunity to discover more about his home planet and from the looks of it, Q seemed to enjoy himself as well.

Then again, he did seem to hold a fascination for humanity and maybe the opportunity to discuss their shared interest was giving him a new perspective as well.

Q especially enjoyed the dessert selection inside the restaurant of the museum and immediately ordered himself a chocolate sundae with Picard amusedly watching him.

By the time they were done exploring the whole building and the exhibitions within, the sun was beginning to set.

"Well, I do have to say that this entire experience wasn't as boring as I expected it to be", Q said cheerfully, "the depictions of deep-sea life were my favourites so far, how odd that you humans want to explore an area that is virtually uninhabitable."

"The need to explore is something humanity always carried with them", Picard added thoughtfully, "I believe there are still some areas of the ocean that we have yet to map out, how odd it is to reach for the stars before knowing everything about one's home."

Q gave him an odd look, "Must one know everything about himself first before exploring something else?"

Picard chuckled, "I suppose not, or perhaps we decided that the ocean was just not something we would ever figure out. I once read that the inherent fear of the unknown outweighed our need to explore and discover new domains within our home. Whereas the ocean provided a deep and dark terrain full of danger, space proved to be the opposite."

Q nodded, "First contact must have helped with that quite a bit."

He smiled, "Yes, it showed us that there were lifeforms out there that proved to be friendly amongst the vast darkness of space."

They stood in silence for a while, between the dark water tank full of white jellyfish and the giant fossilized sea crustaceans of the past.

Q offered him his hand this time, not meeting his eyes, "Care for a sunrise view, mon Capitaine?"

Picard considered his offer for a moment before taking his arm and nodding his assent, not wanting to break this strange moment between them.

He felt the world around them dissolve once more.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Picard felt light hit his face and instinctively reached up to protect his eyes. It was cold once more, the chilly wind waving around him, and after adjusting to the brightness, he realized they were standing inside of a stone room with small glass windows and a ridged ceiling.

"The statue of liberty", Q supplied helpfully next to him, "the inside of her crown to be precise".

Picard looked at him for a moment, taking in the others amused appearance and wondering just what exactly the purpose of their shared trip was if it led them to the top of a monument.

He looked out and momentarily forgot how to breathe. Outside, a sprawling body of water took up most of his view and in the distance, the city skyline was illuminated with the orange glow of the sunset.

Below them, a small boat was making its way across the water, with glowing lights on top of it, like a bright star across the darkness of the water.

“What a romantic view, wouldn’t you agree mon Capitaine?", Q commented with no small degree of amusement lacing his voice, " One of the most romantic places to be in really”

It took a moment for Picard to collect himself enough to give a reply.

“Well, technically that would be Paris. It is considered to be the most romantic city in the world after all.”, he replied warily, not at all approving of Q's sudden cheerful attitude and bracing himself for the other shoe to drop.

This only seemed to amuse the other even more somehow and Picard watched as a broad grin overtook the other's features.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks", Q replied playfully.

And to Picard's great annoyance, before he had the time to reply, he watched Q snap his fingers once more.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Picard opened his eyes, having learned to close them by now to avoid the vertigo caused by teleportation, and noticed they were sitting at a table, his jacket now hanging off of his chair. They were sitting at a round window table, with a perfect view of the Seine and the city below.

It looked to be early night, meaning Q must have move time forward a bit to make the view possible, and Picard was dumbstruck looking at the buildings below. It was one thing to see the earth in a different time period and taking in the different architecture and people, but it was a whole other thing to see his home. The lights made it look as if the buildings were bathed in liquid gold.

Suddenly his throat felt tight.

"We're in-", Q started.

"Paris", Picard interrupted quietly, "we're in Paris. There's the river Seine in the distance and we are sitting in the Eiffel tower right now."

The view really was incredible, the structure of the tower encompassed the windows, and he could only stare at the buildings below. For a moment, this small window into the past left him feeling homesick. Even though this wasn't exactly his home, merely a previous version of it, the feeling persisted.

It had been a long time since he had thought of the vineyard and his family.

Q was watching him from across the table and Picard made himself look away from the window in order to pull himself together.

"You miss your home", Q commented quietly.

Picard only nodded slowly, clasping his hands under his chin and looking at the empty wineglass in front of him.

"Well, then let us end our trip on a more pleasant note", Q said and straightened in his seat a bit.

Picard watched in quiet contemplation as the other waved over a server with some champagne and placed their orders.

It really was a nice restaurant to dine in. The chairs were made of leather and were very comfortable to sit in. A small basket of fresh bread was palced on the table and the overhead lamp bathed the whole area in a warm light. Once the server arrived with their food, they ate in relative silence and by the time they were done, Q was talking about the construction of the tower and it's history while they were sipping on the champagne.

By the time the sky went completely dark, Picard had managed to centre himself and felt more comfortable. All in all, their shared trip had certainly been an interesting experience, even if it started without his explicit permission.

"I found myself enjoying this trip more than I expected to", he admitted, once again looking out through the window.

Q hummed in agreement, sipping on his champagne, "So did I, I usually watch from the side rather than participate in the action myself. This was a nice break for once."

They fell silent, letting the chatter of the restaurant blend into background noise and looking down on the city below as the rest of the buildings lit up like a myriad of stars. It felt… peaceful in a way and reminded Picard of quiet evenings on the enterprise when he enjoyed a cup of tea whilst gazing at the stars.

"Will you bring me back now?"

"In a minute mon Cheri, in a minute."

**Author's Note:**

> I had to cut some stuff out because I wasn't happy with it but it is done nonetheless! Writing these two was much harder than I expected


End file.
